Chapter 1217 Changes in the sky

Chapter 1217 Changes in the sky

Chapter 1217 Changes in the sky
Another difficult day has passed.

After drinking the horse meat soup, Qian Feng sighed comfortably, then frowned again, as there were only more than 800 soldiers left under his command.

It's funny to say, there were probably only more than two hundred people who died on the city wall, more than a hundred people sneaked out of the city at night, and no less than fifty defeated soldiers were killed one after another by the Liang people.

Among these more than 800 people, there were probably nearly 500 members of the Qian family, and the rest were mostly young men, bandits, and defeated soldiers recruited along the way.

He has led these troops for many years. Regardless of their fighting ability, at least they are obedient and under his control. But it is hard to describe those who he recruited along the way. They are the first to give up in every battle to defend the city.

If the Liang cavalry had not charged out of the city several times and fought bloody battles, no matter how strong and difficult it was to attack, Jincheng would have been broken by now.

From this, Qian Feng had a deeper understanding of what the military books meant when they said that one cannot defend a city to the death: this was exactly the kind of situation one was trying to prevent.

The Liang cavalry defeated the enemy troops who had failed to attack the city, burned some of the siege equipment, and frightened them. They were even able to collect some equipment and arrows for backup, which was very useful.

The more than one hundred guards in the palace are also very useful because they have really trained together for a long time.

Sun Song went to recruit Liang Emperor's fellow villagers, but ended up bringing back only a hundred or so desperate criminals, which made Qian Feng laugh for a while. However, after those people were mixed with the guards, although they were not very familiar with each other, they were at least better than the motley crowd under his command.

If he had the idea of ​​turning the tables before, it was gone now. Just wait and see. He had already sent a son back to Changcheng County to see when the clan could reach a consensus and start a rebellion.

"Ah! Beast!" A woman's shrill cry was heard not far away.

Qian Feng didn't even raise his eyelids as Sun Song and Shi Zhen started "recruiting soldiers" again.

In short, there were officials and clerks from the Langya State in Jincheng. Sun and Shi took in their servants and distributed the property and female relatives of their master to them.

After doing these things, it will be difficult for you to turn back.

If the Jin Dynasty recaptures Jincheng in the future, how do you think they will deal with those servants who robbed their masters' property and abused their masters' women?

After all, he is a ruthless man who fought his way out of the pile of dead bodies in the north. He is capable of doing anything. If there is really no food, he might even eat people.

Of course, Qian Feng is not a good guy either, but he does a good job too, it's the same for us.

After throwing the wooden bowl to his nephew, Qian Feng came to the palace and was allowed to enter after reporting.

"The Zhou family of Yixing started an uprising in Moling. I wonder how it's going?" A rice steamer was set up in the courtyard, and a large group of soldiers sat on the ground. They included Sun Song, Qiu Xiaozhong, Zhang Qin, Shi Zhen, and an official from the royal palace named Chen Youzhi. This man was from the Chen family of Yingchuan, and he took the initiative to bring dozens of servants to join the army to avoid an embarrassing end.

"Didn't that thief say so? He burned, killed, looted and killed the elders of the Tao family in Moling, and he ran away because he couldn't stay there. He probably sneaked back to Yixing."

"Will you start a rebellion after returning to Yixing?"

"It's hard to say. The Zhou family is now in disarray, and everyone has their own ideas. When Zhou Qi was here, he could make a decision with just one word. Zhou Zha was also able to convince others at the beginning, but he couldn't make a decision with just one word. Now twenty years have passed, and everyone knows what Zhou Zha is like. It's good enough that he can convince the main branch, but it's probably difficult to convince the side branches, not to mention those families that are attached to the Zhou family."

"If Zhou Zha starts an uprising in Yixing, I think the situation will take a big turn for the better."

Several people did not mind the dirt and sat cross-legged on the ground, eating and drinking while talking.

After Qian Feng came in, everyone stopped talking and invited Qian Feng to sit down.

"If the Zhou family revolts, the Qian family will also revolt." Qian Fengxue sat cross-legged with the others and said, "Even if we can't get all the clan members, we can at least recruit half of them."

When these words came out, everyone was very excited.

The more intense the fighting in other places, the less people will care about Jincheng. The Jin court has only so much power, unless the garrison in Jiangbei is mobilized, it will definitely not be enough.

"It seems that my decision to stay was the right one," Sun Song said with emotion.

"Military Supervisor, we should spread the news quickly to deter those with bad intentions and boost our army's morale." Zhang Qin suggested, "Perhaps we can also intimidate the people in the city. If the bandits are allowed to attack us, all the people in the city will be killed."

"Good, that's what we should do." Sun Song said with a smile.

Qiu Xiaozhong was tearing horse meat on the side. He didn't understand and was too lazy to join in.

This battle will continue until the day we die.

In the backyard of the palace, Zhuge Wenbiao looked at the sky which was getting gloomy again and sighed.

Princess Zheng of Changsha and Princess Liu of Pengcheng stood by with sad looks on their faces.

They had already changed into brocade clothes, but when they came they were almost naked, and the clothes were torn by the soldiers on the way.

Zheng was relatively easy to deal with. Her husband and sons were all killed, so they left her and more than a dozen maids and wives as tools for the soldiers to satisfy their sexual desires. At most, she could find someone else to marry in the future. It was no big deal.

Liu's husband and son were both there, but she had been abused for many days. If she got pregnant in the future, she wouldn't know who the father of her child was. How would she live?

Of course, the two of them were lucky enough to be returned, but the maids and other ladies in the palace are still being held by Sun Song and Qiu Xiaozhong, and have not been returned. It is likely that they are being kept for the warriors to satisfy their sexual desires and to boost their morale.

This is the chaotic world, which will turn people into beasts.

This was a common occurrence in the North twenty years ago, but the people in the South are used to living a high and mighty life and have not experienced it for a long time.

When Zhuge Wenbiao first heard about what happened to the two, he was stunned for a long time.

She originally longed for a life of leisurely clouds and wild cranes, flowing water under small bridges, and tranquility and nature. She felt that it was not difficult to achieve all of this. The only thing that restrained her was her identity as the Princess of Langya.

If she gave up this identity and lived in seclusion among the mountains and rivers, she would be so happy.

But after meeting Concubine Zheng and Concubine Liu, she realized that she was wrong.

Without the status of a princess, who will support you?
Without the power held by your father and brothers, who will protect you?
It is highly unlikely that you can work in the fields, as that would only exhaust you physically and mentally, so that when you see a pine forest, you think not of the bright moon but of firewood for heating and cooking; when you see flowing water, you think not of the wildness but of the source of water for irrigating the fields.

She was at a loss.

In this troubled world, are women destined to be just men's playthings?

If it really comes to that, perhaps the only option is death. ******
The fighting in Jiangnan was fierce, but Jiangbei was very peaceful. However, there were many undercurrents lurking beneath the calm surface.

On the night of the 23rd, fourteen days had passed since the Liang army first crossed the river, and more and more news about the war reached Tangyi and Guangling.

Along with the battle situation, there were also various strange news.

When Tangyi Prefect Chen Yan convened a meeting of his assistants, everyone looked at him strangely.

Chen Yan had some idea and knew the reason. "Rumors" can kill people!
Many officials and generals near Jianye, except for relatives and royal family members, were rumored to have secret dealings with the State of Liang.

Admittedly, many of them are true, but Chen Yan couldn’t understand, is the word "surrender" written on his face?

The Chen family of Yingchuan once intermarried with the Shi family of Bohai, so they had a somewhat indirect relationship.

After crossing the river, some of the Chen family members did not need to use this relationship because they were the relationship themselves, but some did, such as Chen Yan.

He was Concubine Shi's man, and this was a fact known to everyone in the court and the country.

Concubine Shi was like the mother of the emperor, and her status was extremely high. Chen Yan relied on Concubine Shi's support to take the position of governor of Tangyi, and he had always been conscientious in handling the complicated relationship between the refugees and the natives in Jiangbei Qiao County. You guys are doubting this? Are you crazy?
With this unhappy mood, Chen Yan looked at the county magistrate, the county chancellor, the county commander, and the assistant officials, and said, "I just received the news from Jiangnan, it's really horrible, alas."

Everyone felt sad.

They also heard that the Liang army crossed the river from Guabu and attacked Jianye, and that Qian Feng and Zhou Zha rebelled one after another, causing panic among the people.

And what about Tangyi? The Liang cavalry appeared and disappeared, and they were powerless to drive them away. After all, two legs can't run faster than four legs, right?

"If this continues, I don't know how long the Great Jin Dynasty will last." Chen Yan looked at everyone and sighed.

County Magistrate Dai Wen suddenly looked towards Chen Yan, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The magistrate of Tangyi also glanced at Chen Yan, then lowered his head.

"Dechang, do you think the Great Jin Dynasty can last long?" Chen Yan smiled slightly, looked at the county magistrate and asked.

"What do you mean, sir? Do you want to surrender to Shao?" Dai Wen stood up suddenly and asked.

The magistrate of Tangyi hurriedly pulled Dai Wen's sleeve.

Some of the other colleagues were stunned and seemed shocked, while others had no expression on their faces, as if they had guessed it long ago.

Dai Wen shook off the Tangyi magistrate's pull and said, "Chen Yan, you traitor! The court handed Tangyi over to you so that you would be loyal to the country and guard the north gate. How dare you surrender to the enemy?"

Chen Yan sighed and said, "Dechang hasn't thought it through. Take him out and let him think about it carefully."

The county commander immediately stood up, called over several soldiers, pinned Dai Wen to the ground, and tied him up.

"Chen Yan, you dog thief! In this way, where do you put the King of Langya? Where do you put Concubine Shi? Um..." Dai Wen was cursing halfway when a ball of rag was stuffed in his mouth and he could no longer speak.

The soldiers quickly pulled him out.

There was a moment of silence in the field, and everyone bowed their heads in silence.

"I want to restore order to the county. What do you think?" Chen Yan glanced at everyone and asked.

Shi Yong, the county commander, was the first to bow down: "I wish to follow the footsteps of the governor and return to Daliang."

"What about you?" Chen Yan looked at other officials in the county and asked.

The others had no choice but to look at each other. Seeing that no one dared to stand up and object, they could only give in and said one after another: "We are willing to obey the orders of the Lord of the Mansion."

"That's good." Chen Yan clapped his hands and said, "Sign this manifesto. If there is a good thing, you will definitely not be left out."

Soon a clerk came in and handed over the draft manifesto.

Everyone passed it around and read it one by one, and everyone looked pale.

The manifesto did not mention surrendering to Daliang, but rather stated that it was under the orders of Concubine Shi Guipin and the King of Langya to attack Wang Dao, Bian Xu, and Liu Kun and to punish the treacherous officials.

Everyone felt bitter, but under the coercion of the soldiers, they had to sign their names.

"This matter is of great importance. You should not leave the county government in the coming days," said Chen Yan.

After that, he pulled the county commander Shi Yong to the outer room and whispered, "You must gather the county soldiers immediately and rush to Changguang (Qiao County, which governs Ting and Ye counties) to control those people from Qingzhou."

"As you command." Shi Yong replied, and then asked, "After I leave, there will be no soldiers in the county. What should we do if something unexpected happens?"

"General Pugu of Daliang is nearby and will be here in a moment. It's okay." Chen Yan said, "Don't kill too many people when you go to Changguang. You can still use this opportunity to talk to Su Jun in the future."

"Yes, sir." Shi Yong had no doubts anymore and turned to leave.

Chen Yan waited for a while, then went straight to the study and said to a middle-aged man who was drinking tea and playing chess, "Lord Yin, the big thing has been decided."

Yin Yi put down the chess piece and said, "It's just a small matter."

Chen Yan's face changed, but he quickly said in a flattering tone: "I wonder when King Lu will--"

"You are also able to find out the king's itinerary privately?" Yin Yi said dissatisfiedly: "You have been working in Tangyi for many years, don't say you don't have capable generals. First recruit troops and collect ships to wait for the king's army."

"Okay." Chen Yan was secretly annoyed, but decided not to bother with a villain like Yin Yi, so he agreed loudly.

Tangyi County changed overnight.

(End of this chapter)